Gwen Pryor loves a particular kind of music: the sweet sounds of the cardiovascular system humming. She’s been helping her students fine-tune their bodies for the last 14 years. Now, thanks to an essay she wrote likening her students’ bodies to musical instruments, Pryor and her fellow teachers in the P.E. Department at Tommie Kunst Junior High will have help in their efforts in the form of an interactive multimedia program from HOPSports.
Where did she come up with the idea for her winning essay?
“I listen to my kids when they’re running, listen to their breathing,” she said. “It came from them working out.”
Pryor is pretty sure that her students are going to love the new program. Taking their cues from multimedia presentations that project instructions onto a screen or wall, they’ll get a whole body workout. The system includes callisthenics, workouts using Pilates balls, dancing, and ladder steps, to name a few.
“It’s a really cool system, it’s motivational,” Pryor said. “These kids play video games all the time. They’re used to following instructions.”
The program can handle large groups of students at once—another benefit. In fact, the multimedia projector will allow large format-presentations that can accommodate one or more classes.
“They can all be involved at the same time, and we can help them with their techniques,” Pryor said. “It frees us up to be more effective with our teaching.”
And the icing on the cake? Pryor, a longtime soccer fan, just found out that U.S. Women’s Soccer player Leslie Osborn will be giving the initial presentation for the students and faculty.
“Oh man,” Pryor said. “They couldn’t have picked a better prize.”
This article appears in Oct 2-9, 2008.